Chapter 4 FPOV Not-So-Welcome Back

After my first encounter with Max had gone just oh-so-well, I flew back to my old apartment. I was relieved to find that not only was Iggy still living there, but my room was still intact. However, it wasn't much of a surprise to find that a good portion of his stuff had been moved elsewhere (probably Nudge's room). At least he hadn't been left alone while I was away.

I walked into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. 'Spoiled milk, moldy cheese, rotten vegetables… ha! Soda!' Kind of flat, but still good.

I popped open the Coke and grabbed a bag of chips from the pantry. The breakfast of champions. I downed most of it, making a mental note to run to the grocery store to get some food later. 'And a cookbook, too.' I doubted Iggy would be cooking for me for a long time yet. 'I think it's about time I saw Anthony again.' But the thought of the restaurant manager reminded me of Max's accusation. 'Maybe that can wait a bit longer.'

I showered off a month's worth of dirt (hey, I'd been on the run, remember?) and changed into some clean clothes. I flopped down onto my bed, sighing contentedly, and fell asleep quickly. 'It's been a year since I've slept on a real bed…'

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If I was going to restart my life in New York City, I needed a job to pay for the apartment. 'How did Iggy pay for it? What kind of job had he gotten while I was gone?'

I walked into the Five Points Academy, hoping I could get my old job as a martial Arts trainer back. Of course, it was probably already taken by now. And with any luck, it would have been taken by another Avian I'd met in LA.

Flashback:

I was doing the usual rounds. Cat and I would split up once we found a city and search for any sign of the Avian called Maximum Ride. I was supposed to question and take note of any other mutants in the area, but I'd taken to warning them instead.

As the Black Shadow, I landed in front of a young Avian man. It was the first time I'd seen another Avian since the flock. 'How many of us are there?'

"Hey, you, with the wings," I said quietly, knowing he could hear me.

"What? Who, me?" he played innocent. Or dumb, as I prefer to call it.

"Yah, you, don't play dumb. Listen, I'm here to warn you." I looked around to be sure there was no one else within hearing range.

"What are you, some School spy? You don't scare me." But his nervous glances belied his words.

"Not me. I'm a subversive traveling with a Feline who is an enemy mutant. Itex, not the School. But you should really get out of the city. It's crawling with erasers and hostile hybrids. Go east. New York's safe." I usually just told the mutants to lie low for a while, but LA was a hostile hot-spot. And I felt I could trust this Avian enough to let him relatively near the flock.

But he seemed to debate it. "How hard is it to find a job there?"

I did another 360 and lowered my voice. "You know martial arts? Yah? Good. Ok, listen up: Manhattan, Five Points Academy. Tell them Nick Venom- you got that?- Nick Venom recommended you."

"Hey, thanks man."

"Sure, just do me a favor would you? If you ever run into Maximum Ride, tell her Fang still loves her. I'd tell her myself, but I'm with the Itex mutants right now."

"Yah, no problem. I'll tell her. Thanks for the help."

We separated then, flying in opposite directions.

[End flashback]

"Here he is! Nick, this is Dylan Hans. He said that you'd recommended him, so obviously we gave him the job after you left. But now that you're back, you two will be co-workers. I'll let you two work out how you want to divvy up the work; just let me know," the manager rambled on.

"Yah, of course. Thanks a million, Jenney," I nodded at her.

Once she left, Dylan and I turned to face each other, staring down the other. Finally I held out my hand. "Nick Venom." I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes.

"Dylan Hans. Nice to meet you. I've heard you're a master at martial arts.

"Yah. You must be pretty good, too, if I recommended you." I could practically see the words 'Oh shoot, how do I explain this one?' run through his head.

"Oh, yah, um, yah, I…"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. How do you like New York? Much… safer… than LA isn't it?" My words were weighted with hidden meaning.

Dylan's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Yah, lower crime rate, I hear. But I've never been to Sin City, so I wouldn't really know." Tsk. Tsk. Lying's a sin, don't you know? I didn't blame him.

I gave him a knowing smile and shrugged. "Sure. Let me get changed and we'll spar. I want to know your skill level before we divvy up the work."

Dylan nodded and took a sip of his water. I turned and started heading for the adjacent locker room, pulling off my shirt. 'Three, two, one…" I smirked as I heard Dylan choke on his water.

"What?" I looked over my shoulder, "Don't tell me you've never seen someone else like you before. I know we've met before, Dylan of Los Angeles." I left him sputtering in the middle of the gym room while I went to change. 'This is going to be fun.'